Sinoma remains mute on drivers’ protest, no cement

SINOMA Cement has remained mute over delays in supplying cement to hundreds of trucks that have been marooned at their plant for over two weeks and living under unsanitary conditions while waiting for the commodity.

The cement has already been paid for and consignments cleared for collection but not being supplied.

The stranded truck drivers fear for their lives because of the unhygienic conditions at the parking yard and lack of proper bathrooms.

A visit by the Daily Nation team at the plant last week found only a small toilet catering for hundreds of drivers and their assistants.

In an interview yesterday, Sinoma Industrial Relations manager, Ronnie Ngosa refused to comment, despite earlier making assurances of issuing an official statement on the matter.

Mr Ngosa said he was not ready to issue any comment, but did not disclose the reasons for his refusal.

He said he was not ready to discuss anything on the matter and declined to comment.

Mr Ngosa however acknowledged taking note of the complaints from some of the truck drivers who were stranded at the plant parking yard.

The drivers complained of the slow pace at which their orders were being approved for loading.

One of the drivers, Mr Alfred Phiri said the company was not being sincere.

Mr Phiri wondered why Sinoma was receiving payment for the cement when they were failing to deliver.

TRIALS that were conducted on ivermectin outside the country are not adequate to guarantee the safety of the drug, Ministry of Health Director for Infectious Diseases Professor Lloyd Mulenga has said.

Prof Mulenga said Zambia would conduct trials to ascertain the safety and efficacy of ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19 once resources were available.

He noted that the United States Food and Drugs Administration, which is an authority in the world, had not authorised its use to treat Covid-19.

Prof Mulenga emphasised that Zambia would not authorise the use of ivermectin because its safety had not been proven.

Some patients have testified of being healed from Covid-19 after taking ivermectin, a drug that is used to treat parasitic conditions in animals.

But Prof Mulenga said Zambia has looked at the sovereign data on ivermectin but the study areas were too small to guarantee the safety of the drug.

“I have been involved in trials conducted in the UK and Spain on ivermectin use for Covid-19. So far, the data which is there is not conclusive data.

“But when you are in a pandemic sometimes people may try to use a drug but what we care about firstly is the safety of individuals and the efficacy of the drug. That is why ZAMRA has not authorised the use of this drug for Covid-19,” Prof Mulenga said.

He said the available data was not conclusive enough for Zambia to use the drug to treat Covid-19 in humans, emphasising that the country was still doing studies.

Prof Mulenga regretted that Zambia has lost a lot of health care workers some of whom he has seen struggling for air due to limited oxygen.

“That’s very emotional. I have had some staff die in front of me. People I know and have worked with and you see a colleague struggling for air or bleeding because of the nature of the disease,” Prof Mulenga said.

He added: “We have lost nurses, we have lost some doctors, we have lost pharmacists, we have lost lab technicians. As we speak we have some health workers admitted and some have had to be referred to other places because the services where they are stationed cannot cope,” he said.

Prof Mulenga said the ministry has resorted to using young personnel as frontline workers because the risks of older personnel having severe disease and dying if infected by Covid-19 were high.

He sympathised with young personnel for the trauma they have had to go through as they had seen a lot of people dying.

Prof Mulenga said the human loss as a result of Covid-19 cannot be counted and he worries about the young personnel in the wards taking care of patients.